Government of Bulgaria

The newly elected 44th parliament will have today its initial session. The National Assembly is summoned with a decree of President Rumen Radev and the eldest MP present will unveil it, following the Constitution. This will be the journalist Toma Tomov from the socialists, elected in Blagoevgrad.

A total of 5 political forces enter this parliament:

GERB - 95 MPs

The Bulgarian Government Wednesday approved the 2016 Annual Report on the Status of Defence and the Armed Forces and will submit it to Parliament for debate and approval, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Stefan Yanev аnnounced.

The working group in charge of drafting the criteria for a new Regulation on the integration of aliens granted a refugee status or national protection is at the final stage of its task, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister in charge of preparing Bulgaria's EU Presidency Denitsa Zlateva said on Wednesday, according to BTA.

Bulgaria's caretaker cabinet has suspended the Sofia Airport concession procedure, the spokesperson of the Council of Ministers has announced.

Serbian PM Aleksandar Vučić has stated that Bulgaria is "scared by the progress" of Serbia and this is the reason that it refused to give under concession Sofia Airport.

Transport Minister Hristo Alexiev has proposed that the Council of Ministers stop the concession of Sofia Airport, reported BGNES.

The Minister reached this decision on the basis of an expert analysis which points out that in the situation of the current concession state interests are not protected.

The EU will send its own experts to Sofia in order to help with the organisation of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, stated on bTV Deputy PM Denitsa Zlateva who is responsible for the presidency.

The Bulgarian government has decided to support the reelection of Donald Tusk as Euripean Council President for another term.

The decision, announced after a cabinet meeting, comes against the backdrop of resistance from authorities in Warsaw against his possible second tenure.

Krasimir Angarski will replace Kiril Ananiev as a member of the Bulgarian Development Bank's Supervisory Board, the Finance Ministry says.

Ananiev was appointed interim Finance Minister at the end of January and is barred from being a member of the board as the ministry owns a 99.9% stake.

A key ex-ruling party official has accused the caretaker cabinet of Bulgaria of using its office to create faultlines, make appointments to the administration and creating "fake news", instead of organizing the early election in March.